When she falls in love with her target, Kayden realizes she cannot fulfill her mission. Now she will have to reveal her deepest, darkest secrets to the Prince… or it could mean both their lives.

This FREE digital sampler includes excerpts from the first four books in JC Morrows' romantic, edge-of-your-seat suspense-filled, bestselling young adult series—as well as a teaser to the highly anticipated fifth book, A Broken Kingdom!

JC Morrows - Bestselling author of YA Christian speculative fiction, drinker of coffee and avid reader - is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. JC has been telling stories in one form or another her entire life and once her mother convinced her to write them down, she couldn't stop.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Mystery, Sci-Fi, SuspensePublisher: Sweetwater Books, an imprint of Cedar FortPublication date: June 14, 2016Number of pages: 320When Stanley saves a man, he's given a mysterious device that allows him to travel through time. But he soon learns that changing his past doesn't necessary lead to a better future. Traveling over 100 years into the future may be the only way Stanley can change his fate and save his family.

Melanie Bateman was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and moved to the United States at age nine. She has an associate’s degree in fine art from Utah Valley University, emphasizing in illustration. From a very young age she’s had a passion for drawing, specifically nature and the human figure. It is from this creative look on the world that she began to write stories.

​There couldn’t be a better time to begin Stanley Becker’s story than at the moment he stood on the frozen stone wall of Kingston Bridge overlooking the river Thames, breathing in the winter night and pressing the icy metal barrel of a pistol to his jaw.

I have often wondered where it would be most appropriate to begin. A few other moments come to mind, but despite the significance they play, I choose to begin Stanley Becker’s story at the approaching end of his life.

Before he found himself standing on the bridge, Stanley hadn’t contemplated what the best approach to ending his life would be, but he had assumed that a bullet to his head would be the quickest. What did he know about suicide? All he knew was that it would be rather unfortunate if he missed.

Through his misty breath, he looked down at the black waters that seemed so calm and knew it would be the perfect resting place for his worn-down body. The moment he blew his brains out, his corpse would crash down into the dark waters and conceal him from the world he was so determined to leave. Few things could be more poetic. Stanley Becker smiled. Soon he would see Jane again, holding little Maisie’s hand and grinning, just as the last time he had seen them alive.

Although Stanley Becker was about to take his life on this particular night, his thoughts lingered elsewhere, remembering the tragic event that had taken his entire reason to live. He remembered it quite vividly. Six years ago, Stanley had refused to attend the opera despite Jane’s pleading. He had stayed home to write a story that he would never finish. Unbeknownst to him then, on the same bridge where he now stood, his wife and daughter had lain sprawled in the crimson-stained snow, lifeless.

Perhaps the fact that Mr. Miller had not driven that night, but one of the drivers employed by Jane’s father, could have been the single event that sealed his family’s fate. There were other incidents that only I had been able to see as I revisited the night when everything changed, and although unclear, they nevertheless deserve some mention. Perhaps the cause had been that Jane’s father had insisted on sending his own driver, that the driver himself had had a drink too many and had failed to see the incoming collision. Or, possibly, that a street cat had darted across the street and consequently startled the horse of a carriage whose driver had had recent late nights looking for a runaway daughter, losing control only moments before the accident.

I only observed the minor events of that night, but the matter of life and death could have been the result of numerous decisions by unknowing players and (as Stanley’s mother always told him) could not have been stopped and can never be changed. I can’t help but feel sympathetic when I am reminded of this truth, however insignificant it renders us, but it would be a long time before Stanley understood the fragility of our human existence, and how crucial our resolve to ignore such realities impacts the way we play our set role.

As he presently stood on the bridge, yearning for the end to come, Stanley was comforted by the thought that he would no longer need to worry about what he could have done differently. Soon, the long, numbing, excruciating life he had led for six years would be over. He was ready for whatever awaited him in the next life, if there was any- thing waiting for him at all.

The pistol felt heavy and the cold embraced him. He wondered if attempting a suicide could be any less pleasant. As Stanley passed a hand over his eyes, he steadied himself for the big moment. The barrel pressing on his jaw was aimed straight to his brain. For a split second he wondered if it would hurt.

His gloved hand gripped the gun. His finger touched the trigger. Stanley Becker held his breath and felt the end draw near. He squeezed the trigger.

My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review

Six years ago, Stanley Becker lost his wife and daughter in an accident and his grief has consumed him. On a cold December night in 1897, he is ready to give in to the darkness. Instead, he ends up saving a man's life and gaining possession of a time key. He is quickly filled with the desire to go back and fix the fateful night that changed everything.This is a complex book. There are multiple characters and stories and I was curious as to how it would all come together. The characters were interesting and fun to get to know, whether I liked them or not. We learn what's happening through a mystery narrator and I thought that worked pretty well.Stanley takes full advantage of the opportunity to travel through time. I did find that to be confusing at times but was able to get the gist of what was happening along the way so that didn't bother me too much. There comes a point when he travels to a time that we recognize and I enjoyed reading how he adjusted to it.Stanley was only given bits and pieces of information at any given time and I felt like I was there with him trying to figure out what was happening. I really wasn't sure how this story would end since there were plenty of twists and turns along the way. Stanley was a very different man by the end of the book. The ending is left open for more of this story to be told! If you enjoy fantasy and time travel, this is a book you will want to pick up!

Don't believe what they tell you in movies and on TV; ghosts don't haunt people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's no such thing as ghosts, I'm just saying they don't haunt living people – because basically they don't know we're here.

How do I know that? Because I can see them. I have since I was a little kid. But I didn't have a grandmother who taught me how to help people move on, or Bruce Willis as my ghost shrink. Nope, I just got to stand around like a zombie staring at people nobody else could see, wondering if it was me or the rest of the world who was crazy.

Then, just when I'd worked out what my version of 'normal' was, and was content with it, Jake came along - the anomaly - the Grey who didn't play by the rules. What was worse, he couldn't be just any old Grey, could he? Oh no, he had to be the most gorgeous guy I'd ever laid eyes on, living or dead. And he was set on rocking my world, whether I liked it or not.

Excerpt:

"What do I look like to you? I assume there's some reason you think I'm a ghost," her voice went up at the end as a question, and her pale eyebrows lifted too. Was she making fun of me?

I decided two could play at that game. "Is this where I'm supposed to say you're pretty?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm not my sister. I have no illusions about my looks. And if you said I was pretty I wouldn't believe you. So, no. I want to know why you call me a ghost."

I sobered up and decided to address the elephant in the park directly. "I can see through you. You aren't solid and colourful like the rest of us. Like the tree behind us." I hated to break it to her. After all, she said she wasn't dead, and yet she obviously was. How was someone supposed to break something like that to a ghost?

She looked at her own hand, as if trying to see it as I did. Of course, she wouldn't.

"It's okay. You can go to the Light or whatever. They say it's great on the other side," I found myself muttering stupidly. Crap, this was not as easy as it seemed on TV.

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with compassion and empathy. "So they say. Do you want to know what I see when I look at you?"

I hadn't thought about that. Wouldn't she see me like the rest of the people around us? I mean, we're the living, after all.

Her eyes became even more sympathetic and I began to feel like an idiot who was missing the point somehow. I could see she was fighting not to reach out and comfort me with a touch.

"You're transparent to me, too. I call you Greys. And there aren't fifty shades of you. You're all just one transparent grey."

It was my turn to look at my hand. It was as solid as it always was. Maybe she was just saying that to get even with me for breaking the news to her so badly?

"I'm as solid as those people sitting over there," I nodded with my head to the three co-eds and one guy sitting on the grass no more than ten feet away. Already they'd looked my way a couple of times, clearly wondering who I was talking to.

"There's nobody there. I can see two guys about to sit down to our right. But it's too cold for most people to be out today. Spring seems to have deserted us."

"It's not spring. It's September and this is an Indian summer," I choked out. Things were deteriorating fast. She must have died in spring and was stuck in that time forever. Always chilly, never to enjoy the pleasures of summer again.

For a moment she just stared at me. That's when it hit me. She thought I was dead. She thought I was the ghost. This was getting seriously screwed up.

Bio:

After a lifetime of teaching others to appreciate the written word, Aussie author Nhys Glover finally decided to make the most of the Indie Book Revolution to get her own written word out to the world. Now, with more than 100,000 of her ebooks downloaded internationally and a winner of 2013 SFR Galaxy Award for 'The Titan Drowns', Nhys finds her words, too, are being appreciated. Living in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales of England, Nhys these days spends most of her time "living the dream" by looking out over the moors from her window as she writes the kind of novels she loves to read. The ones that are a little bit different and wholly romantic.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Beyond the Narrows, by M.R. Durbin
2016, 304p, Clean Contemporary Suspense
My Rating=3.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review

You’re never too old for an adventure!

After being the subject of an explosive assassination attempt, O’Reilly (Obie) Begay, a retired Navajo archaeologist, finds himself in the middle of the hunt for an ancient record—the personal journal of a Spanish Templar leading to a legendary treasure.

When Obie tracks down the journal, he enlists fellow retirees Peter, Bill, and Jack to assist him in following its clues. Facing gunfights and car chases, the treasure hunters locate a 500-year-old Mayan codex, the next clue on their adventure. Peter’s grandson, Charley, and Obie’s granddaughter, Mac, come along for the quest, but they may find themselves drawn to a different kind of treasure.

Constantly one tiny step ahead of their enemies as they scour the caves, cliffs, and canyons of Southern Utah, Obie’s team will have to rely on each other if they want to reach the treasure before their pursuers. But what will they do if not all in their numbers can be trusted?

This novel is action packed from the very beginning! Obie Begay, a retired Navajo archaeologist, is believed to be dead when his camper explodes. However, his best friend, Peter, knows where to find him--very much alive. They are drawn into a chase for hidden treasure and need to find out who wants him dead. There are two other friends who help out, along with Obie's granddaughter, Mac, and Peter's grandson, Charley.There's quite a bit of action in this novel and I usually love that but had a hard time staying engaged in this book. There were lots of details related to the setting (Southern Utah) which slowed it down for me. I also don't rappel and there were lots of detailed rappelling scenes so I skimmed over those parts. The two young ones in the group, Mac and Charley, are physically attracted to each other but their interactions are awkward. I enjoyed the history and how this group of friends and grandchildren worked together to translate the codex. The four older men have been friends for a long time and there were times that their conversations had me laughing out loud. The villain was perfect and added the right amount of tension. While I had a few issues, I would say that I liked this book overall! The ending leaves an opening for a second book, which I would be interested in reading, and would definitely like to see a relationship between Mac and Charley develop.

M. R. Durbin was born in Fort Ord, California, in 1951. He grew up University in 1976 with a degree in education. He later received a master’s degree in education from Utah State University. Mr. Durbin retired from education after thirty years as a teacher, coach, and principal before beginning a second career writing about the things he loves: scriptures, history, and people.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

From the Book of Ether comes a haunting story of two royal sisters. The elder sister, Ash, will do anything to bring her father, King Jared II, back to the throne. The younger sister, Naiva, only wants to save her family from destruction. The bond of sisterhood becomes precariously fragile when one man . . . named Akish . . . falls in love with the younger sister, Naiva. Yet he chooses to marry the elder sister.

The sisters’ hearts are divided. And when Ash becomes queen, seduced by the promise of power and wealth, Naiva watches her world crumble away. She sees only one way out. But it will require forsaking all that she holds dear.

I enjoy reading scripture-based fiction stories and Heather Moore once again does a fantastic job! This is a story that I'm familiar with and she brought the characters and the time period to life. It's the story of a family that is hungry for power and the father, Jared, and older sister, Ash, will do whatever they need to in order to accomplish that. There's a younger sister, Naiva, who feels differently than they do but she loves her family and is loyal to them. Akish comes around and instantly falls in love with Naiva but knows that he must marry Ash in order to become king. This causes some tension between the sisters for a while. Due to the themes of this book, it's somewhat dark, but it is also filled with hope. Akish was so evil that I would cringe when he came around. Naiva was loyal to her family, especially Ash, and put Ash's health and happiness before her own. Naiva had a love interest, but there were complications that made it difficult for them to be together. I understood her love for her sister and that she never wanted to give up on her, but there were times that her choices were frustrating to me as a reader. Ash made choices which cost each of the sisters dearly. She wasn't very likable but there were times when her humanity came through.This story spans fourteen years and it was interesting to see the changes in the sisters from the beginning until the end. I love the fresh perspective this story gave me and how it came to life for me. I will definitely read this scripture story differently from now on. I loved the ending and teared up a little bit. It's a great read from beginning to end!

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen historical novels and thrillers, written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt, the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Utah.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Run the World: My 3,500-mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe, by Becky Wade
2016, 288p, Non-fiction
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review

From elite marathoner and Olympic hopeful Becky Wade comes the story of her year-long exploration of diverse global running communities from England to Ethiopia—9 countries, 72 host families, and over 3,500 miles of running—investigating unique cultural approaches to the sport and revealing the secrets to the success of runners all over the world.

Fresh off a successful collegiate running career—with multiple NCAA All-American honors and two Olympic Trials qualifying marks to her name—Becky Wade was no stranger to international competition. But after years spent safely sticking to the training methods she knew, Becky was curious about how her counterparts in other countries approached the sport to which she’d dedicated over half of her life. So in 2012, as a recipient of the Watson Fellowship, she packed four pairs of running shoes, cleared her schedule for the year, and took off on a journey to infiltrate diverse running communities around the world. What she encountered far exceeded her expectations and changed her outlook into the sport she loved.

Over the next twelve months—visiting 9 countries with unique and storied running histories, logging over 3,500 miles running over trails, tracks, sidewalks, and dirt roads—Becky explored the varied approaches of runners across the globe. Whether riding shotgun around the streets of London with Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt, climbing for an hour at daybreak to the top of Ethiopia’s Mount Entoto just to start her daily run, or getting lost jogging through the bustling streets of Tokyo, Becky’s unexpected adventures, keen insights, and landscape descriptions take the reader into the heartbeat of distance running around the world.

Upon her return to the United States, she incorporated elements of the training styles she’d sampled into her own program, and her competitive career skyrocketed. When she made her marathon debut in 2013, winning the race in a blazing 2:30, she became the third-fastest woman marathoner under the age of 25 in U.S. history, qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials and landing a professional sponsorship from Asics.

From the feel-based approach to running that she learned from the Kenyans, to the grueling uphill workouts she adopted from the Swiss, to the injury-recovery methods she learned from the Japanese, Becky shares the secrets to success from runners and coaches around the world. The story of one athlete’s fascinating journey, Run the World is also a call to change the way we approach the world’s most natural and inclusive sport.

As a recipient of the Watson Fellowship in 2012, 22-year-old Becky Wade traveled the world for a year to learn about living, connecting and running. Her travels took her to England, Ireland, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden and Finland. She became immersed in their cultures and trained with several runners in other countries. At the end of each chapter, she shares a recipe from the country she visited.I loved reading about her experiences in each of these places! I'm not a runner at all and am happy to say that I learned tons just from reading this book. I loved her descriptions and felt like I was traveling with her. She trained in different altitudes and terrains, which seemed to help her when she returned to the States.She had a great time in each country she visited, but she also had her fair share of difficulties and trials. When she got to Sweden, her older brother Matt visited her for 10 days. She was feeling tired and wasn't sure how she would finish her tour, but his visit rejuvenated her and gave her the strength to keep going. His visit also gave her a clearer vision as to what she wanted to do when she returned home.The Olympics will be starting soon so this was the perfect time to read this book! I must admit that I am attracted more to swimming and gymnastics, but after reading her book, I will pay close attention to Becky Wade in the marathon and cheer her on!

Becky Wade is a professional long-distance runner who competes for Asics. At Rice University she was a four-time All-American and the winner of the Joyce Pounds Hardy Award, Rice’s highest athletic honor, and the Conference USA honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Rice with a triple major in history, psychology, and sociology, Becky traveled the world on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and visited 22 countries to explore long-distance running cultures.

In her 26.2-mile debut in December 2013, Becky won the California International Marathon, qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials. Currently, she is fulfilling her dream of running professionally and chasing Olympic aspirations, while coaching and working part-time at a shelter for homeless youth.

Friday, July 22, 2016

The author is generously offering to give away two e-copies of each of her books! Please scroll to the bottom for a chance to win one or both of them!

From the Sideline, by Amy Avanzino
2016, 266p, Women's Fiction
My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review

After losing her marriage, life savings, and waistline, Autumn Kovac is terrified of being hit by more heartache. So when her only child decides to try out for the football team, the overprotective, sports-illiterate mom has a near phobic reaction. But Zachary hasn’t smiled since his father left, and she’s desperate to make him happy (and doing nothing and hoping for the best hasn’t been working). She reluctantly enters a new world of youth competitive sports, full of overzealous coaches with Vince Lombardi dreams and fanatical parents trying to achieve vicarious glory.

Unexpectedly, Autumn begins transforming within this strangely addictive new culture, finding her voice, facing her past, tackling her fears…and uncovering the secret that’s been keeping her from her son. After meeting her ideal catch, she finds herself back in the dating game and discovers some fierce competition of her own. Will Autumn make it off the sideline? Can the underdog finally win?

Autumn is recently divorced and her 10-year-old son Zachary is having a difficult time dealing with it. She encourages him to find his passion and regrets it when he chooses football. He tries out for a local team, with her secretly rooting against him, and makes it. Her life drastically changes as she moves into the world of competitive youth sports. This was a fun read! Autumn has low self-esteem and it comes through in everything she does. Her life is a bit sad at the beginning. She does, however, have a great sense of humor about it, and I laughed out loud several times. As certain friendships develop, she is able to come out of her shell and learns some surprising and interesting things about herself. She has a lot to balance and makes mistakes along the way.This is the second book in Ms. Avanzino's Wake-Up Series. I haven't read the first book and this one works well as a stand-alone. It did start out a little slow to me, with lots of descriptions of football tryouts. It quickly picked up, though, and I had a hard time putting it down. Autumn's character grew quite a bit and I enjoyed getting to know her and the bits of wisdom she shared along the way!

There is a little bit of content: Autumn has a sexual relationship with another character. There is one quick sex scene and their relationship is referenced after that. There is also some swearing--one particular minor character uses colorful language a few times, with one use of the "f" word.

Sarah Winslow wakes up with a terrible hangover… and a kid in her boyfriend’s bed. She makes the horrifying discovery that, due to a head injury, it’s not a hangover. She’s got memory loss. Overnight, five years have disappeared, and she’s no longer the hard-living, fast-track, ad executive party girl she thinks she is. Now, she’s the unemployed, pudgy, married, stay-at-home-mom of three kids under five, including twins. As she slowly pieces together the mystery of how her dreams and aspirations could have disintegrated so completely in five short years, she finds herself utterly failing to manage this life she can’t imagine choosing. When Sarah meets the man of her dreams, she realizes she’s got to make a choice: Does she follow her bliss and “do-over” her life? Or does the Sarah she’s forgotten hold the answers to how she got here… and how she can stay?

Praise for Wake-Up Call:

"Funny yet tender...witty and charming...a reminder of the things that really matter in life. - Jackie Bouchard, USA Today Bestselling author of What the Dog Ate

"Hilariously funny...endearing and heartfelt." - LibraryThing

"A lighthearted read, with lots of love, hilarity, some sexiness and definitely a good time." - Comfy Reading

Amy Avanzino received a Bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a Master's from the University of Washington. She is a former special education teacher who has spent the last several years writing and doing extensive hands-on research for her Wake-Up Series, the first of which is Wake-Up Call. She's a contributing writer of Hap Scotch, a play performed at the 2008 Frigid Festival in New York, which won two Audience Choice Awards. Amy currently lives in the stands above the football fields, basketball courts, and baseball diamonds around Folsom, California with her husband and four children.

Please be sure to enter both giveaways below! The rules are simple: You must be 18 years old to enter, be able to accept e-copies of books and the winner will be emailed and announced here and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Award winning author John E. Stith is re-releasing nine science fiction titles in 2016 and 2017! I will be featuring the books on my blog as they become available and will review some of them as well. So, check them out, especially if you enjoy Science-Fiction!

Deep Quarry, by John E. Stith
2016, 160p, Mystery/Science-Fiction

Ben Takent is a private eye on a hot, dusty world at the edge of the civilized galaxy. When he's asked to find out who is stealing artifacts from a 10,000-year-old archaeological dig in the desert, he reluctanly takes the case. Then, when it becomes clear that the artifacts are pointing to an ancient alien spacecraft, the stakes in the case go up--way up.

Science fiction and mystery author John E. Stith writes across many worlds. His books have been translated to French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian and are even available in braille for the sight-impaired. His stories have been categorized as "Hard science fiction," a label given to those stories thoroughly researched to play fair with the rules of science; something any die-hard SciFi fan can appreciate.

It was during the summer Science-Math Institute for High School Students at Cloud State College, John served as editor for the school paper, but several more years would pass before the urge to write, strengthened by years of loving to read, was too compelling to ignore. His stories vary, but his books are packed with suspense, mystery, and humor.

Stith holds a B.A. in physics from the University of Minnesota, has served as an Air Force Officer, where he worked at NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The passion for science runs in his family, as his father George worked at the White Sands Missile Range on such projects like the rocket sled.

He has appeared on a live nationwide PBS broadcast or Science-Fiction Science-Fact (SF2) and his work has also been sold to film and television. His novel Reckoning Infinity was chosen as one of Science Fiction Chronicle's Best Science Fiction Novels, Redshift Rendezvous was picked as a Nebula Award nominee and Manhattan Transfer received an honorable mention from the Hugo Awards and a nomination from the Seium Award in Japan.

Stith is a member of Science-Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Writers Guild of America (WGA), International Thriller Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW), Colorado Author's League and Mensa. He currently lives in Colorado Springs.

Irish heiress Caroline Fulton knows this house party, ostensibly celebrating the victory of Waterloo, is really an audition: will she make a suitable wife? Her host, an English lord, has already won over her father, who’s determined to buy a title with Caroline’s dowry. She is far from taken with the baron, however, especially once she meets Niall Doherty, the impoverished, perceptive tutor to her host’s younger brothers. He shares her love of Irish fairy tales and seems to guard a troubled past…but neither quality will earn Caroline’s father’s approval.

This is another installment in the Matchmaker series! I have enjoyed each of these books so far. This one moves at a slower pace but I still enjoyed it. Pearl, the matchmaker, makes a few very short appearances (each consisting of a few paragraphs) at various parts of the book. She felt like more of a random character than the driving force behind bringing this couple together.Caroline and her father, along with her friend Fiona, travel to the home of a baron. Her father is hoping for a marriage between the two of them. Once they arrive, Caroline is taken with someone else. His name is Niall and he is the tutor for the baron's younger brothers. He's not a man of means and her father will never approve. Niall is a great storyteller and, while I enjoyed his stories, that's part of what slowed the pacing of the book down. I personally didn't mind too much, though, since at least he was a good storyteller!There are some complications to Caroline and Niall being anything more than friends, due to Caroline's social status and the prediction Pearl made to him about his true love match. I was curious as to how it would all pan out and was hoping for a happy ending. There are some great characters in this book and I enjoyed getting to know them. Overall, I liked this book and am looking forward to reading even more in this series!

Heidi Ashworth, best-selling, award-winning author of traditional regency romance, lives in the San Francisco bay area, but she lost her heart across the pond when she was very young. She read her first regency romance when she was four years old (just a few words, but it was enough). The first one she wrote took place in Paris circa 1974 but such gaffes are mere trifles when you are only ten. Since then she has sharpened her skills and garnered a few accolades; Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind hit the number one spot on several of Amazon's regency romance lists in both the U.S. and England, while its sequel earned a finalist position in the Whitney Awards (both are available via Montlake Romance) while her anthology, The Lord Who Sneered and Other Tales, was a finalist in the 2014 Rone Awards. Her novella, It Happened Twelfth Night, is one of six short stories in the first volume of the award-winning, best-selling series, A Timeless Romance Anthology, via Mirror Press, and the third book in her Miss Delacourt series, Lord Haversham Takes Command, was re-released in a box set entitled "Every Hope: A Triple Treat Romance", in December 2014, also via Mirror Press. Her latest in the Miss Delacourt series, Miss Armistead Makes Her Choice, garnered a 4.5 star Crowned Heart review from InD'tale Magazine and is currently a 2015 RONE Award finalist. Coming December 2015, A Midwinter Ball from the Timeless Regency Collection by Mirror Press.

Gerard Collins is running in the election for Massachusetts U.S. Senator. He put his name on the ballot to help his FBI agent brother crack a crime family. But the masquerade gets more complicated when his Campaign Manager insists that he’s going to need a political wife.

Movie star Nicole Burns aka Nicole Wyland makes millions staring in romantic comedies, yet she’s never been in love. She left Cape Cod to escape her family and sought to pretend to be anyone else other than Nicole Burns. She goes back home to figure out who she is.

When she saw Gerard Collins was running for office, she intended to confront him over his part in her sister’s mental breakdown. But sparks fly and helping him win is far more interesting to her, and her sister’s complicated past stops becoming a barrier to romance. He’s nothing like what she thought, and the fake engagement is becoming excitingly more real the longer she stays.

Excerpt: (Please keep in mind that this is an unedited excerpt.)“I will not propose to a woman to win an election.” Gerard Collins pinched the bridge of his nose and shoved himself away from the boardroom table.He then turned his six-foot three-inch frame away from the table and stared at the ground and grimaced. His campaign manager, Barnie, was silent. Gerard assumed he gave the man time to adjust. Barnie always won elections. Gerard had hired him to ensure success, so he turned his big brown eyes toward the man and began his argument. “The Constitution doesn’t say a senator must be married.”Barnie adjusted his glasses and sat back in his chair. “But the facts are, in America, single men don’t win elections.”Gerard leaned closer to the table. This was an argument he had to win, and as a lawyer he’d always won his case. “Barnie, it could happen. I’m not on the ticket for President.”“True, but you’ve dated far too many women in the past few years, and you are only thirty years old.” Barnie pushed his round glasses higher on his nose. Gerard pressed his lips together as Bernie explained in an even tone, “You need to appear stable. If you want to win this thing, then we need to get you a Jackie Kennedy to stand at your side.”As he rubbed the five o’clock shadow on his chin, Gerard swallowed and glanced out the window toward the autumn grayness of Boston. While Gerard had no intention to win the election, he knew he had to do everything in his power to appear a true candidate. He sighed and shook his head.“I’ll get the list in order.” Barnie stood and walked away from the table.

About the Author:

Victoria Pinder grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, after passing many tests proving how easy Math came to her. Then hating her life at the age of twenty four, she decided to go to law school. Four years later, after passing the bar and practicing very little, she realized that she hates the practice of law. She refused to one day turn 50 and realize she had nothing but her career and hours at a desk. After realizing she needed change, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is rewarding, but writing is a passion.

During all this time, she always wrote stories to entertain herself or calm down. Her parents are practical minded people demanding a job, and Victoria spent too many years living other people’s dreams, but when she sat down to see what skill she had that matched what she enjoyed doing, writing became so obvious. The middle school year book when someone wrote in it that one day she’d be a writer made sense when she turned thirty.

She's always been amazing, adventurous and assured. It's what gets her through the day.

When I Found You is the story of San Diego Police Department K-9 unit captain Logan O’Connor, who readers were introduced to in the first two books of the trilogy, and Ariana Atkins, chief of security and loss prevention at San Diego’s international airport. Of course, a K-9 trilogy book has to have a furry, four-legged character, too, and in When I Found You, that character is Logan’s explosives detection dog, Boomer.

"The way this story flows is very engaging. The mystery/suspense angle had me on the edge of my seat and guessing until the end. There are enough plot twists to still keep it very intriguing and it makes me wonder how many close calls there are at airports every single day. I have to admire those who sacrifice their time and risk their lives to keep the majority of people safe. I loved the romantic interludes and the way these two show a lot of respect for each other and for their co-workers and friends. I couldn't get enough of the story and enjoyed every page. I think this one may be the best book of the trilogy!"

Is there a particular author that you remember being the first that drew you into being a fan of the Romance genre?

I have to say that (although not strictly romance) I love Nora Roberts’s books. I just finished The Obsession, and (please refer to the above question about my love of dogs) my favorite character in the book is Tag, the dog. He even has a pivotal role in the conclusion of the book!

"I am really loving this K-9 series by Kate James. I've read every one so far and this book is a fantastic addition. I loved how each book has a different setting- even though all the books are about K-9 handlers in the same police unit. This book is mostly in an airport setting and I really loved it. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this and it was fun."

"I really enjoyed the insight that When I Found You gave into both the behind-the-scenes action in airport security and the work that K-9 bomb sniffing dogs do. Fascinating! The mystery was solid, and though I had a pretty good idea as the book went on who might be behind things and why, it wasn’t obvious. It was especially understandable that the people involved wouldn’t immediately suspect them either. . . . Still, the ending was sweet and satisfying."

"Her heart was racing, but as he continued to hold her, he sensed the tension easing. It felt just so darn good holding her in his arms. It didn’t matter how strong she was. At that moment she needed comfort and Logan was pleased that she was letting him provide it, especially since they were in a public corridor."

Suddenly, Boomer rushed by her in a blur and she heard her name called from a distance. Swinging around, she saw Logan sprinting toward her. She felt the floor shudder, and an earsplitting sound reverberated around her. Before she could process what was happening, she was flying through the air.

"I loved the book, the characters and how to story developed, would love to read more of her books. . . . Thank you Kate James for a wonderful trip."

Her heart was racing, but as he continued to hold her, he sensed the tension easing. It felt just so darn good holding her in his arms. It didn’t matter how strong she was. At that moment she needed comfort and Logan was pleased that she was letting him provide it, especially since they were in a public corridor.

Logan stood in the doorway, dressed in indigo jeans and a pale blue polo shirt. She glanced down quickly to see if Boomer was with him. Not seeing the dog, she shifted her gaze back to Logan. He had one arm causally braced against the jamb, the stance emphasizing the muscles in his arm and torso. His dark hair glistened under the harsh fluorescent lights of the corridor. He had a smile on his lips and in his eyes. And those intense blue eyes mesmerized her.

"I loved the unique setting of an airport. The breaches that were happening were realistic. I figured part of it out but there were twists and turns along the way to learning the extent of what was happening. I love romantic suspense and this was a fantastic blend of both! I was hooked from the beginning, had a hard time putting it down, and was satisfied at the end! "

"I loved the whole theme of the story, it was heart-warming yet emotional, a story that touches your heart and your life in more ways than one. . . . When I Found You is not a book to be missed, I loved Kate's style of writing and how she take a story and makes it so much more than that, she makes it a home away from home."

A: I would them to know how grateful I am to everyone who chooses to spend some of their valuable leisure time reading one of my books. I am also very appreciative when those same people take a moment to send me an e-mail or post a review to let me know how they enjoyed one of my books. Ultimately, that’s what being an author is all about!

"When I Found You is a wonderful story with the airport as the main setting. I have been in love with airports across the world since I was small, so this story is totally a must read. And I have to say that it doesn't disappoint. The story was wonderfully written with the right amount of suspense and action."

When I Found You

(K-9 Trilogy #3)

by Kate James
Adult Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 365 pages

July 1st 2016 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Is she part of the solution…or the problem?

It could be a terrorist threat. Or is it some other sinister plot? An unprecedented rash of security breaches at San Diego's international airport is putting passengers at risk and bringing the competence of the airport's chief of security, Ariana Atkins, into question. With explosives the weapon of choice, police K-9 unit captain Logan O'Connor and his bomb detection dog, Boomer, might be Ariana's best, if not only, line of defense. Logan is certain his belief in Ariana, and his growing love for her, aren't misplaced…but it wouldn't be the first time he's misjudged someone's intentions.

In the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, it's chaos for trauma surgeon Jessica Hansen. Among the many victims, one patient stands out—San Diego Police K-9 search and rescue officer Cal Palmer.

Cal vows to help Kayla, a child orphaned by the disaster. But he needs Jessica's help. Will their shared concern for Kayla and for Cal's canine partner, Scout, allow them to put aside their personal torments and discover the difference love can make?

Could their backgrounds be any more different? Rick Vasquez, a K-9 unit sergeant with the San Diego Police Department, fled drug-related violence in Mexico as a boy. Madison Long, who recently became primary veterinarian to the SDPD's canines, is the privileged daughter of a judge. Rick has dedicated his life to curtailing cross-border drug trafficking and preventing other young boys from being drawn into the dark world of the cartels.

But everything Rick and Madison value, and the growing love between them, is threatened by the dangers of Rick's job, and the risks he's determined to take…

Kate James spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Her writing has been recognized with a number of awards, including first place honors for Silver Linings in both the First Coast Romance Writers’ Published Beacon Contest and Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award. Her November 2014 Harlequin Heartwarming release, A Child’s Christmas, received first-place honors from Southern Magic, the Birmingham Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, for the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, placed second in the Ancient City Romance Authors’ Heart of Excellence Readers’ Choice Award, and was a finalist in RWA’s Desert Rose Chapter’s Golden Quill Award and the Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence. Finally, her October 2015 release, When the Right One Comes Along, the first book in her K-9 trilogy, has received a Best Book of 2015 award in the contemporary category.

She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador Retrievers, Harley and Logan.

Kate would love to hear from you! You can connect with her by e-mail, through her website, her Facebook page, Twitter, or mail at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada.

Tour Giveaway

US/CAN PRIZE PACK: one K-9 trilogy women’s T-shirt, tote bag and a mug, a signed copy of the award-winning first book in the trilogy, When the Right One Comes Along, a signed copy of The Truth About Hope, signed book plates and a bag of Tim Horton’s coffee.